7/18/11: This is our first full day at Cosmovision and (again) it could not have gone better. First a word about Cosmovision. It is a Christian camp near the Athens airport (but not too close) that was established in 1994 by two Greek brothers, George and Fotis Romeos. It has a soccer field, sand volleyball, a ropes course, dorms and nice meeting rooms. We have the place to ourselves. The best part of Cosmovision is the hospitality of our hosts. These are quality guys. They are contagious Christians and they love sports. It's fun talking college basketball with them because they are friends with Baylor's basketball coach, Scott Drew, who has spent time here at Cosmo.
OK. now to the update...
We started the day with a devotional. All the Baylor students and several of their Albanian partners attended. Chris and Ashton did a nice job leading. Scripture, music and prayer helped start what turned out to be a very enjoyable day.
Then, students interviewed each other around their "body maps" from last week at PORTA.
Kisla gets some insight into what makes John so interesting.
Blendi explains some inside information about himself to Olga, who is fascinated beyond words.
Body maps are hung around Cosmovision Center and students are beside themselves, almost literally.
"Active listening" was the leadership principle du jour. Kelli facilitated several great initiatives such as the trust walk and blind object retrival. There was a lot of happy students moving around with (and some without) blindfolds. I wish you could have heard the meaningful comments several students made at the debriefs. Its so gratifying to see them "get it" on a daily basis.
This Baylor Missions Trip is all about relational ministry. We talk about leadership concepts, but our real ministry is the mentoring relationships our students have with their Albanian partners. If those relationships don't succeed, the mission is not accomplished. As you may have picked up in previous blogs, the relationships are not only working, they are amazing! Mission accomplished already, Baylor!
After a tastey Cosmo lunch, it was off to a nearby Greek beach, Porto Rafti. It was ugly and we had no fun at all. Check that. It was indescribably beautiful and we had a ball. Which is it? You tell me...:
IMO, the best part of Greek beaches is the landscape surrounding them.
wow.
ryan, eni, david
Emma, Shannon
Ashlee
Caitlin
playing cards on a beach in Greece. please don't hate us.
Kelli, a frisbee (not pictured), and a beautiful afternoon at Porto Rafti.
Post dinner, Andrew Yarbrough did another excellent presentation, this time on the highly effective habit of "win-win." I suspect this one was new to the Albanians. Andrew got the message across well and got a round of applause when done.
Our last session each night this week centers around the life stories of each of the 20 students. Each gets a mere 5 minutes to talk about their lives, then field questions from the group. These are great people and it helps to know how they got to be this way. (Some of you reading this blog had a hand in it and should feel really good about your kid and yourself.)
Let me conclude with a word about how we are addressing our Christian faith here. Our new Albanian friends, you should know, have not had the advantages growing up in a place where a relationship with Jesus Christ is an option. These kids don't go to the local Greek Orthodox Church or any other church (with two exceptions) and their parents grew up in a country where God was explicitly denied in the constitution. So we have to be gentle and sensitive when we mention Christ. We do mention Him and several of the Baylor students have had wonderful conversations, one-on-one, with their Albanian partners. Again, this is a relational ministry. In my humble opinion, its the most effective way to deliver the precious message of God. Baylor students are doing just that here in Athens.
Do us a favor. When this mission trip comes to mind, please pray for us. We are in the home stretch and good things are still to come.
Thank you!!
Jeff
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